I heard from somewhere that there are no voiced consonants in Mandarin. Wikipedia says that consonants like the pinyin "d", "b", "g" are "unaspirated", whatever that means...
Although my first language is Mandarin, I think I spoke too much in English and might have forgotten how do the "unaspirated" consonants sound. For example, I am not sure whether I am pronouncing the "unaspirated" pinyin "b" or the voiced consonant "b" in English when I say something like "不".
Wikipedia says that the pinyin "b" is the same as the p
in the word "spy". But this didn't really help me understand "unaspirated" consonants. I have always been told that, in English, when "s" is followed by a "p", the "p" usually turns into a "b" sound. I always thought that the "p" in "spy" is the same as in the "b" in "but".
In addition, I can't seem to distinguish between voiced and "unaspirated" consonants by hearing. So I need another way to check if I pronounced it correctly.
What are the difference pronouncing a pinyin "b" and an English "b"? How can I check if I pronounced it correctly?